Multiple roll clamp arms



Aug. 31, 1965 Filed Feb. 23, 1962 P. L. HUITFELDT MULTIPLE ROLL CLAMP ARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR PAUL HUITFELDT yf WM ATTORNEY P. L. HUITFELDT MULTIPLE ROLL CLAMP ARMS Aug. 31, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 23, 1962 FIG. 3

INVENTOR PAUL HUITFELDT y ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,203,567 MULTIPLE ROLL CLAMP ARMS Paul Latham Huitfeldt, Eik, Heggedal, near Oslo, Norway Filed Feb. 23, '1962, Ser. No. 175,100

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-652) This invention relates to an attachment for use with industrial lift trucks and the like, and more particularly to a clamp attachment of the type used in handling cylindrical goods, such as paper rolls.

Lifting clamps of the type contemplated usually comprise a generally U-shaped clamp extending forwardly of the truck and mounted upon the lifting mechanism thereof for engaging, elevating and transporting loads between the arms of the clamp. Usually such clamps are of a type which is rotatable about an axis longitudinal of the truck so that cylindrical goods can be engaged by the clamp arms regardless of the angle thereof relative to the vertical, and clamp arms are provided at the outer ends 'with either fixed or pivotable pressure pads which are movable with the clamp arms so as to grip the object to be transported.

In using such clamps to handle cylindrical objects, such as paper rolls, it is desirable to be able to handle two or more rolls simultaneously which may either lie adjacent each other or may be stacked one on top of the other. It sometimes occurs during movement of such rolls from one location to another that one of the rolls falls out of the clamp, which not only damages the roll, but may also be hazardous to persons in the vicinity. The loss of one roll in -a two-roll load usually results if the rolls are of different diameters. Clamps heretofore available are incapable of compensating for this difference in diameters so that the smaller diameter roll is not clamped between the arms with sufficient holding force to support it.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a lifting clamp capable of clamping simultaneously at least two rolls of different diameters.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lifting clamp of the type contemplated wherein the clamping arms during operation adapt themselves to rolls of different diameters such that the rolls are gripped by the arms with essentially equal holding force.

It is a general object of the invention to improve upon the structure and operation of clamp attachments of the type contemplated.

It is another object of the invention to provide a relatively simple and highly eflicient and inexpensive clamp structure for handling simultaneously cylindrical objects having different diameters.

In carrying out my invention I have provided a pair of juxtaposed clamping arms mounted for simultaneous movement in one direction to effect a clamping action with another clamping varm which is spaced from the pair of arms, and wherein the pair of arms are connected together to provide independent pivotal movement in opposite directions to compensate for differences in the diameters of cylindrical rolls clamped between the arms.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows somewhat diagrammatically a plan view of the clamp;

FIGURE 2 shows a side view of the clamp as shown in FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 3 shows in perspective view the actual clamp mechanism as mounted on the lifting mast of an industrial truck.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, an industrial truck of well-known type is shown at numeral having a lifting mast .12 mounted forwardly of the front axle thereof, said lifting mast including the usual pair of fixed 3,203,567 Patented Aug. 31, 1965 upright channel members 14, inner telescopical slide members v16, and a vertically extending hydraulic hoist motor -18 operatively connected by chain means 20 and other parts, not shown, to a carriage 22 which is elevatable in and with slide members .16, and which may be mounted on trunnion means for rotational movement about a central axis, if desired.

Carried by and forwardly of carriage 22 is a vertically extending clamp carrier plate 24 having vertically spaced and transversely extending slide members 26 connected thereto by bar members 28, said slide members being received in complementary transverse openings 30 of the carriage so that plate member 24 is supported on the carriage by slide members 26 and is movable transversely of the carriage 'with the slide members. Slots 29 are formed in the forward surface of carriage 22, through which bars 28 extend. A vertically extending carrier plate 31 is connected in a similar manner to the opposite end of carriage 22 by means of slide tubes 32 which are received in vertically spaced transverse openings 33 of the carriage, said latter openings being in staggered relation to openings 30 so that slide members 26 and 32 can be disposed in overlapping relation when the clamp mechanism is closed.

Connected to carrier plate 31 is a forwardly extending single clamp arm construction 34 having a pivoted clamp pad 36 mounted at the forward end thereof for engaging a portion of the cylindrical surface of paper rolls and the like. Supported by and extending forwardly of carrier plate 24 is a pair of juxtaposed vertically spaced clamp arms 38 and 40 having a common vertically extending pivot shaft 42 which connects said arms together and mounts the same on a pair of vertically spaced bifurcated brackets 44 and 46 which .are secured at the rear ends thereof to carrier plate 24. A pair of oppositely extending and vertically spaced hydraulic motor means 50 are mounted on carriage 22 in a suitable manner with the piston rods thereof secured to carrier plates 24 and 31 by means of brackets 52 which extend through slots 54 in carriage 22. When pressure fluid is supplied to cylinder motors 50 clamp arms 34, 38 and 40 are caused to move transversely of carriage 22 with the carrier plates and slide members for clamping or releasing cylindrical articles. A pair of pad members 56 are pivotably connected to the outer ends of arms 38 and 40 and cooper-ate with pad 36 for clamping cylindrical articles therebetween.

Mounted intermediate the ends of and between adjacent arms of bifurcated bracket members 44 and 46 is a vertically extending plate 60 which is adapted to support at one end a longitudinally extending pivot shaft 62 supported at its other end in carrier plate 24. A vertically extending pivoted yoke 64 has an enlarged center or trunnion portion 66 which is mounted for pivotal movement on shaft 62. At the opposite ends of yoke 64 is provided a pair of axially extending openings in which are slidably and rotatably received a pair of oppositely disposed stub shafts 68, each of which has an enlarged apertured cylindrical end portion 70 in registry with and pivotable upon one of a pair of rearwardly extending stub shafts 72 which are secured centrally of the inner ends of arms 38 and 40. The arms of yoke 64 extend through openings 74 which are provided in adjacent members of bifurcated brackets 44 and 46. The size of openings 74 may be varied, as desired, to limit the amount of rotation of yoke 64 about pivot shaft 62.

In operation, truck 10 approaches, for example, a pair of vertically stacked paper rolls with the clamp attachment elevated in mast 12 so that the rolls are embraced on opposite sides by clamp arms 34, 38 and 40. Pressure fluid is then directed to one or both of hydraulic motors 50 so as to retract the piston rods thereof and actuate the clamping arms transversely inwardly of the carriage 22 whereby to clamp the pair of rolls between clamp pads 36 and 56 for transport to a different location. During such engagement pivot pad 36 will contact one side portion of both rolls as pads 56 tend to contact the other sides thereof whereby to effect a clamping action between the arms to securely hold the cylindrical rolls. However, if the upper roll is of larger diameter than the lower roll, for example, clamp pad 56 of arm 38 will first effect with pad 36 a clamping action, which upon continued clamping movement of motors 50 causes the clamp pad of arm 38 to be pivoted outwardly of the attachment while the inner end thereof is pivoted inwardly of the attachment about pivot shaft 42. Such action effects a pivotal movement of yoke 64 in a direction which pivots the rearward end of clamp arm 40 outwardly of the attachment and the clamping end thereof inwardly about shaft 42 whereby to elfect a compensating movement of clamp arm 40 so as to apply clamping pressure to the lower smaller diameter roll. Of course, if the larger diameter roll is located below an upper roll to be engaged an opposite action to that above-described occurs.

Although my invention has been described with reference to but a single physical embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that numerous changes in the form, structure and relative arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims appended.

I claim:

1. A roll clamping attachment for industrial trucks comprising mounting means adapted for securing the attachment to said truck, a pair of clamping arm means movably carried by said mounting means in spaced facing relation, means for moving said arm means toward and from each other for clamping and releasing a pair of rolls of different diameters arranged in end-abutting relation, at least one of the arm means comprising a pair of arm supports on the mounting means, pivot means mounted on said supports providing a single pivot axis, a pair of arm members spaced apart along said single axis and each supported by one of the supports for swinging movement about the single axis, elongated means pivoted intermediate the supports, and means pivotally supporting said elongated means on said mounting means to rotate about a second axis normal to said single axis, and means pivotally connecting opposite end portions of said elongated means to the arm members at corresponding ends thereof, whereby in clamping movement of the arm means engagement of one of said arm members with the larger diameter roll of said pair of rolls disposed with the plane of the abutting roll ends falling between the arm members causes pivoting of said one arm member about the single axis to effect swinging of said elongated means about said second axis and consequent pivoting of the other arm member about the single axis in the direction opposite that of the one arm member and into engagement with the smaller diameter roll.

2. An attachment as set forth in claim 1, in which said pivot means comprise a single member common to and connecting said arm supports.

3. In an industrial truck, apparatus for clamping a pair of endwise juxtaposed cylindrical objects of different diameters, comprising a pair of arm means mounted on such truck extending outwardly therefrom in spaced generally parallel relation, means for effecting relative closing and opening movements of the arm means for clamping and releasing cylindrical objects, at least one of said arm means including a pair of support members carried by said movement-effecting means in spaced relation, pivot means providing a single pivot axis supported on the ends of said support members remote from the movement-efiecting means, a pair of arm members each mounted on one of the support members for pivotal movement about said single axis, each arm member having one end portion extending outwardly beyond said remote support member end and another end portion extending inwardly terminating short of the movement-effecting means, yoke means for the arm members, means intermediate said support members pivotally supporting said yoke means on the movement-effecting means to swing about an axis normal to said single axis, and means pivotally connecting opposite end portions of said yoke means to the respective other end portions of the arm members, whereby engagement of one of the arm members with a first cylindrical object in clamping movement of said arm means causes pivoting of said pivoted means to swing the other arm member about the single axis into engagement with a second cylindrical object of smaller diameter than said first object having axially abutting engagement with the first object in a plane extending between said support members.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which said pivot means comprise a single member common to and connecting said support members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,596,477 5/52 Frischmann et al 2l4652 2,604,220 7/52 Frischmann 2l4652 2,611,498 9/52 Broersma 2l4652 2,667,283 1/54 MacDonald et al 2l4653 2,674,387 4/54 Ehmann 214653 2,675,935 4/54 Thurow 214-653 2,681,162 6/54 Ehmann 214-653 2,683,546 7/54 Sherriff 214-653 X 2,706,060 4/55 Ferrario et a1. 2l4652 2,815,878 12/57 Vance 2l4652 2,874,862 2/59 Farmer 214-652 2,904,202 9/59 Brady 2l4653 3,008,596 11/61 Oster 2l473 X FOREIGN PATENTS 856,503 12/60 Great Britain.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner.

MORRIS TEMIN, Examiner. 

1. A ROLL CLAMPING ATTACHMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS COMPRISING MOUNTING MEANS ADAPTED FOR SECURING THE ATTACHMENT TO SAID TRUCK, A PAIR OF CLAMPING ARM MEANS MOVABLE CARRIED BY SAID MOUNTING MEANS IN SPACED FACING RELATION, MEANS FOR MOVING SAID ARM MEANS TOWARD AND FROM EACH OTHER FOR CLAMPING AND RELEASING A PAIR OF ROLLS OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS ARRANGED IN END-ABUTTING RELATION, AT LEAST ONE OF THE ARM MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF ARM SUPPORTS ON THE MOUNTING MEANS, PIVOT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORTS PROVIDING A SINGLE PIVOT AXIS A PAIR OF ARM MEMBERS SPACED APART ALONG SAID SINGLE AXIS AND EACH SUPPORTED BY ONE OF THE SUPPORTS FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT THE SINGLE AXIS, ELONGATED MEANS PIVOTED INTERMEDIATE THE SUPPORTS, AND MEANS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID ELONGATED MEANS ON SAID MOUNTING MEANS TO ROTATE ABOUT A SECOND AXIS NORMAL TO SAID SINGLE AXIS AND MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF SAID ELONGATED MEANS TO THE ARM MEMBERS AT CORRESPONDING ENDS THEREOF, WHEREBY IN CLAMPING MOVEMENT OF THE ARM MEANS ENGAGEMENT OF ONE OF SAID ARM MEMBERS WITH THE LARGER DIAMETER ROLL OF SAID PAIR OF ROLLS DISPOSED WITH THE PLANE OF THE ABUTTING ROLL ENDS FALLING BETWEEN THE ARM MEMBERS CAUSES PIVOTING OF SAID ONE ARM MEMBER ABOUT THE SINGLE AXIS TO EFFECT SWINGING OF SAID ELONGATED MEANS ABOUT SAID SECOND AXIS AND CONSEQUENT PIVOTING OF THE OTHER ARM MEMBER ABOUT THE SINGLE AXIS IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE THAT OF THE ONE ARM MEMBER AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SMALLER DIAMETER ROLL. 